This invention relates to a polish formulation including a zwitterionic aminofunctional siloxane which imparts to the surface containing the polish a film forming capacity which functions to sheet water coming into contact with the surface rather than to bead the water as has been the case with prior formulations.
Polishes are used to produce a glossy finish on a surface as well as to prolong the useful life of the surface. The gloss provided by the polish is the result of components in the polish which leave a coating and that function to smooth and clean the surface. Floor polish, furniture polish, and shoe polish, rely upon a deposited film. Car and boat polish formulations result in a glossy and protective film and contain abrasives for removing weathered paint and soil as well as old built-up polish. Metal polish contains ingredients for abrasive smoothing of the surface being treated and for surface cleaning, as well as components that function to remove and retard the build-up of tarnish.
Motor vehicle polish is formulated in order to remove road film and oxidized paint, and to provide a continuous glossy film which resists water and its removal by water and car wash detergents. Such vehicle polishes contain several major functional ingredients including an abrasive. The abrasive, however, must be mild enough to avoid scratching of the painted surface, and representative of such mild acting material are, for example, fine grades of aluminum silicate, diatomaceous earth, and various silicas. Straight and branched chain aliphatic hydrocarbons are employed to facilitate the detergency of the polish against oil based traffic soils and debris, and provide the solvency characteristics necessary in the production of a stable formulation. These hydrocarbons also control the drying rate of the formulation. Wax constitutes another polish ingredient and is one of the two film forming materials in the polish. The wax is spread and leveled and produces a high luster following buffing of the surface. Blends of soft and hard wax are often employed in order to facilitate ease of buffing and the durability of the polish against environmental antagonists. Exemplary waxes are paraffin wax, microcrystalline petroleum wax, carnauba wax, candelilla vegetable wax, montan coal derived wax, and synthetic polymeric waxes such as oxidized polyethylene.
Silicone materials are included in polishes as the other film forming ingredient. Such silicone materials also function as lubricants for easing the application of the polish as well as its buffing, and act as release agents for dried abrasive. The silicone materials spread easily and provide a uniform high gloss and with it water repellency. Such materials typically are dimethylsilicones, however, aminofunctional silicone products are becoming more prevalent. The aminofunctional products result in films having increased resistance to removal from the surface by detergents and the environment believed to be the result of their ability to plate out on a painted surface and to crosslink and bond to that surface.
A car polish may also contain an emulsifier, a thickener, and a stabilizer, for the production of a homogeneous stable product of desired consistency. Such polishes may be solid in form, semisolid, presoftened, or liquid. The polish, for example, can be solvent based or an emulsion, and in either case is a liquid, semi-solid, or solid in constitution. Typically, liquid emulsions include ten to fifteen weight percent of an abrasive, ten to thirty weight percent of solvent, two to fifteen weight percent of a silicone material, and up to about four weight percent wax. In an emulsion paste formulation, the wax ingredient is increased in level from three to twenty-five weight percent.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,956,353, issued May 11, 1976, there is disclosed the reaction product of an aminofunctional silane and a cyclic acid anhydride. These products are limited, however, to vinyl benzyl functional amines whereas the materials of the present invention differ in the amine group, and do not require such a substitution. Such products further are not disclosed to be useable in a polish formulation as such, but are aqueous or alcohol coupling agent compositions, in contrast to the polish compositions disclosed in the present invention. Polishes, it should be noted, require polymers with significant dimethyl character for solubility, as are the aminofunctional siloxane zwitterions of the present invention. The reaction products in U.S. Pat. No. 3,956,353, however, are low molecular weight monomer materials. Polish formulations containing silicone materials are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,508,933, issued Apr. 28, 1970, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,836,371, issued Sept. 17, 1974, and in U.S. Pat. No. 3,890,271, issued Jun. 17, 1975. While these silicone materials are characterized as being aminofunctional siloxanes, they are not zwitterionomers as are the compositions of the present invention, and it is not believed to be known to employ zwitterionomers in polish formulations. What appears to be a zwitterion in a polish in Japanese Publication No. 8029/80 is actually an amido acid. Such acids are low molecular weight hard solids in contrast to the high molecular weight fluids of the present invention. Further, the function of such amido acids is to increase the luster or shine of a polish, rather than to cause water to sheet as in the present invention. Zwitterionomers are not new as exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 4,525,567, issued Jun. 25, 1985, to Campbell et al, however, the zwitterionomers of Campbell et al are characterized as being sultone based zwitterionomers whereas the zwitterionomers of the present invention are sulfur free amine cyclic-anhydride based zwitterionomers in contrast thereto. Further, the zwitterionomers of the present invention are lactone free in contrast to Campbell et al. A further distinction exists between the instant invention and that of Campbell et al, in that in Campbell et al, there is disclosed a low cost process of making the zwitterions by combining OH endblocked polydimethylsiloxane, a functional silane, and an acid catalyst. In the present invention, however, the zwitterionomers can be prepared from fully-premade aminofunctional siloxane polymers which are not silicon functional. As such, the compositions of the present invention provide new and unique advantages over typical prior art polish formulations which will become apparent hereinafter.